Singular and plural

So here we are, coming to terms with the fact that we’re standing on the shore of a boundless ocean of vocabulary. In order to make you feel slightly better I’ve decided to let you take a peek at some of the mistakes native speakers make.

The video below should give you an idea of two facts, the first of which is rather straightforward: native speakers are not perfect (no surprise there, right?). The second point is less obvious: some of the theoretical mistakes that Paul mentions are no longer considered grammatical errors. For instance, the sentence “this year there are less students in the classroom” is an obvious mistake but “here’s three cookies” is not exactly a mistake per se but a simple feature of colloquial English. Would I include something like that in a formal letter? Hell no! Do I speak like that? I’m afraid I do… You see? I guess that’s part of the joy of learning a language. Very often things are not black and white and human expression runs the gamut from extreme perfection to regrettable sloppiness. For example take the so-called ad sensum agreement or notional agreement, which describes the type of agreement that focuses on the meaning of a noun phrase rather than on its actual grammatical number.

In C1.1 we should concentrate on the fact that we oftentimes find two acceptable possibilities:

1. The police is after me.

2. The police have a difficult job to fulfill.

Nothing mysterious here. Sentence number 1 clearly refers to the institution (singular) whereas in the second one we mean a group of police officers (plural). So far so good. However there is also the “mistake” we see in a sentences like this one:

The majority of teachers know the truth

According to the by-the-book approach we should say the majority is because the noun majority is in its singular form. However the proximity of a plural (teachers) makes it tempting to use the verb in the plural (teachers know). Is that a real mistake? I don’t think so. Things can get a little more sophisticated when the choice depends not on the actual meaning of the phrase but on the speaker's intentions. Pay attention to the subtle implications of these two sentences (both of which are perfectly grammatical):

1. The government is united

2. The government are divided

In the first case we refer to the government as a cohesive group, in the second we imply that the individuals who make up that group may not share the same views. Needless to say a supporter of that government will chose the singular and a member of the opposition will favor the plural.

The lesson today is that, as you see, even the simplest grammar areas (such as the use of the singular and plural forms) can be quite tricky. So don’t take anything for granted and remember: nobody is perfect, not even native speakers.